Her food is infested with maggots and she can only sleep for five hours a day, but Brighton sailor Polly Pratt is determined to finish a gruelling round-the-world yacht race.

Polly, 29, has spent 25 days thousands of miles from civilisation, on board a clipper in the Pacific Ocean.

Yesterday, she used a satellite telephone to call The Argus and shared some of the ups and downs of life on the ocean wave.

The clinical psychologist is taking part in the Clipper 2002 race. She is among 14 crew on board the Bristol Clipper, which is lying in third place in the latest leg of the race, from the Galapagos Islands to Hawaii.

Although most of the crew's fresh food has been invaded by maggots, Polly said sailing alongside dolphins and whales had made the trip more than worthwhile.

She said: "When we were crossing the Atlantic, we saw pilot and minky whales. A couple of days ago, a group of dolphins was swimming alongside the boat. It was beautiful and I will never forget it."

She went on to describe the crew's relentless schedule. They are unable to sleep for more than five hours at a time because of the demands of running the clipper.

In the middle of the Pacific, Polly admitted she often feels isolated. The crew have not seen any of the other seven clippers in the race for ten days.

She said: "The crew have become my family and friends. We seem to get on very well and have only had a few arguments.

One of the clipper's sails has ripped and some ropes have snapped, but thankfully the crew has spares. Polly said the scariest moment of the trip so far was when a fellow crew member became ill.

She said: "We are just out of the reach of helicopters now and it makes you realise just how vulnerable you are to the elements.

"But there are doctors on other boats, which we are in contact with, so medical help is never too far away."

The crew member has since made a full recovery.

Rupert Parkhouse, 33, from Chichester, is also taking part in the race as skipper of the Glasgow Clipper. His crew is lying in sixth place, about 75 miles behind Polly. The fleet is expected to arrive in Hawaii in early February.